Crosswalk Paintings

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County’s Creating
Healthy Schools and Communities grant (CHSC), in partnership with GoBike
Buffalo, the City of Niagara Falls Department of Community Development, and the
Niagara Falls City School District, are working to create safer crosswalks
around schools in Niagara Falls. Over 100 students at several Niagara Falls
Elementary schools have been designing and painting colorful crosswalks to
promote traffic calming and help improve the safety of walking and bicycling in
the City of Niagara Falls.

The initiative was inspired by Complete Streets, a
transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned,
designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient, and comfortable
travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode
of transportation. To date, crosswalk painting projects have been completed at Niagara
Street Elementary, Gaskill Preparatory,
Cataract Elementary, LaSalle Preparatory,
72nd Street, and Maple Avenue Elementary Schools. Additionally,
several more schools in Niagara Falls are scheduled to have these vibrant crosswalks
painted this school year.

Pedestrian safety is a concern in school zones and on school
campuses everywhere. In neighborhood schools where the majority of students
walk, bike or are driven to school, reducing driver speed in school zones is critical.
When students can safely walk or bike to school, they are incorporating
physical activity into their day and will be more focused and ready to learn.
Walking and bicycling to school also helps reduce air pollution and traffic
congestion around schools.